Comparison of fecal granulocyte excretion in ulcerative colitis and Crohn's colitis.

Impaired granulocyte migration has been suggested to be present in Crohn's disease on the basis of in vitro granulocyte function tests and in vivo skin window studies. This idea is supported by the impression histologically that the acute inflammatory infiltrate in diseased bowel is less in Crohn's disease than ulcerative colitis. We have developed a method of quantitating the acute inflammatory infiltrate in inflamed bowel by measuring fecal indium-111 granulocyte excretion and have compared this assessment in patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's colitis matched for disease activity. For equivalent disease groups in ulcerative colitis and Crohn's colitis, there was no significant difference between fecal granulocyte excretion. These findings provide no support for the contention that there is a reduced granulocyte infiltration in Crohn's disease.